by Ayles, Abby
“We must not stand here out in the open all day,” Cecilia said. Annabelle had almost forgotten her little sister was with them. She had wandered off in the shop and was only now coming out.
“Come, there are other shops I want to visit before the day is done. It is a beautiful day but I will burn if I stand here for long. So will you, Annabelle.”
Annabelle nodded. “You are right, Cecilia. There, we can get some pastries and cold tea.” She pointed to a small café directly on the other side of the street.
“Allow me.” Once again, Lord Gilbert came to stand by her. He took her hand and looking both ways, he crossed the street with her, holding her hand up in the air as if she was an invalid or royalty. She did not know how to feel about it. It felt to her like he was touching her more than he should be.
She did not want him to kiss her hand, help her in and out of a buggy, help her across the street. She was not helpless and did not like to be treated like a fragile child.
She gave him a cursory smile, pulling her hand away as soon as she was on the other side of the street. She turned to go in, catching the look on Joanna’s face. She was angry. Lord Gilbert was deliberately treating her special to make the girl jealous.
Her feelings toward Lord Gilbert were already sour. Thinking that he was hurting Joanna on purpose made it worse. She picked up her skirt and hurried over to where Joanna was standing in the street, as if she was not going to come in the café.
“Joanna. Come with me. I want to sit with you and talk to you.”
Joanna’s eyes widened. She was not expecting Annabelle to do that. Annabelle held on to her friend’s elbow and directed her up the three steps to the door of the café. She smiled at Joanna to show she held no ill will against her and the two of the entered the café.
“Come and sit with me at a table over here, Joanna,” Annabelle said, taking her friend’s hand. Joanna was still in shock and could do nothing but obey.
She followed Annabelle to a small table for two in the corner of the café. She sat at one end so she could look across at Joanna.
She did not think about what she wanted to say before she said it. She just started talking.
Chapter 21
“Joanna. You must tell me why you would say those things about Duke Colbourn when you are so obviously taken with Lord Gilbert.” She leaned forward with one hand and placed it on the table, ignoring the fact that the rest of their group had entered the café and taken a different table, their eyes fixed on the two girls in the corner.
“Joanna, you know that I am interested in the Duke. Are you trying to hurt me?”
She tried to read the look on Joanna’s face. It seemed a mixture of guilt and bitterness. “I am not trying to hurt you, Annabelle,” the girl said in a low voice.
“Then why would you say such things.”
Joanna looked down, her cheeks turning red. “I… have you thought that what I have said might be true?”
Annabelle shook her head. “You know your words are not true. You should tell the duke and duchess they are not true. You know it is not possible. He was not near you long enough to do such things. Not without being seen nor heard.”
Joanna shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She refused to meet Annabelle in the eye. Annabelle stared at her for what seemed like an hour but was really only a few minutes.
“I am disappointed, Joanna,” Annabelle’s voice dropped almost to a whisper. “I am so disappointed.”
Without another thought, Annabelle stood up and walked out of the café. She did not know where she was going and she prayed God would send Julia after her. She felt stifled in the café and did not want to be there anymore.
She did not walk quickly. She knew Julia would be catching up with her in a few moments.
True to form, her friend hurried up beside her and slowed her pace to walk with her. “Annabelle, what did you say to Joanna? She is crying in the café.”
“I simply asked her for the truth. She refused to give it to me.”
“She is very stubborn, the poor dear. She does not want to admit to anything.” Julia’s voice was sad. She slipped her arm through Annabelle’s and they walked together in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the fresh air.
“I apologize for leaving that way, Julia,” Annabelle finally said. “It felt like I was being suffocated in a box.”
Julia shook her head. “I was not willing to spend much more of my time with the Lords Balfour.”
“I would like to go home, if I am honest with you,” Annabelle said.
Julia nodded. “I know. You want to talk to Duke Colbourn. He is bound to be back by now. The Duke and Duchess will have talked to him already.”
Annabelle pulled in a breath. “Yes. They have had plenty of time to talk to him.”
“You must stay calm. He will not be angry with you. I am sure of it. He will be wondering how you are feeling about it. If he does not mention it, you know he is not interested in your opinion. But he will ask.”
Annabelle looked down at her friend’s slender, pale face. “You seem so sure.”
Julia shrugged daintily.
“I am sure. I see the way he looks at you. There is no doubt. I would take bets on that.”
Annabelle laughed softly.
“I hope you would win.”
They had stopped walking and were standing outside another shop, this one with three pretty dresses displaying in the window. The girls remarked on the beauty of the fabric and decided to go in. They looked around the shop, admiring what was offered but not buying anything.
By the time Annabelle left the dress shop, she felt much calmer. She walked back in the direction of the café. If her sister was still there, she planned to suggest they go back to the mansion. She was calm but she was still determined to speak to the Duke.
She did not have to wait till she got home. She spotted his horse coming down the street from a distance. Her hand on Julia’s arm squeezed tight. Julia let out a small cry and looked at Annabelle with alarm on her face.
“Annabelle! What is wrong?”
Annabelle turned to Julia with wide eyes.
“He has come to the shopping district. That can only mean he is looking for us.”
Julia looked down the street and saw him coming on horseback.
“You saw him from that far away?” Her voice sounded surprised. She gave Annabelle a wide-eyed look.
“My goodness, Annabelle.”
Annabelle just laughed.
“I hope he is not angry.”
“He will not be angry with you,” Julia said in a cautionary voice.
“But do not expect him to be in a cheerful mood. My sister will have to deal with the consequences.”
They continued to walk toward the approaching Duke. Annabelle wondered if he had seen them yet.
Duke Colbourn did see the women. He caught sight of Annabelle’s pretty yellow dress from far away. There was no doubt it was her. His heart did a flip and he pulled in his breath. He had to talk to her but would he be able to alone?
Julia was with her, as always. Before he reached them, he had already decided to speak freely, whether Julia let them alone or not.
Before they met, he had to pass by the café. He did not know the rest of the group was in there, including Joanna. When they all came out on the street, he instinctively jerked on the reins of his horse, causing the animal to swerve to the left. He steadied the horse and got his wits back.
Joanna was staring at him with a terrified look on her face. Lord Gilbert and Lord Leonard backed away from the women, not willing to get involved. They had no standing with the Duke and knew it fully.
Cecilia moved, as well, but it was in the direction of her sister and Julia. She kept looking over her shoulder until she reached them. She turned and walked beside Annabelle, looking up at her big sister.
“What is he going to say to her, Annabelle?”
Annabelle gave her sister a sarcastic look.
“I do not
know what he is going to say, Cecilia. How could I know?”
Cecilia did not respond. She looked at the duke as he approached. They were all going to meet in front of the café.
The Duke did not get down from his horse. He sat tall in it, glaring down at Joanna. She would not look up at him. He took it as a sign of her guilt.
“As you can see, I have not been sent away, Miss Joanna.” His voice was stern and angry but level.
He moved his eyes to Annabelle when she walked closer to them. Julia and Cecilia stopped walking a few feet before Annabelle.
“Have you anything to say for yourself?”
Joanna said nothing. Her face was beet red and she was staring at the ground.
The Duke looked at Annabelle again, searching her face for anger or betrayal. He saw neither. What he saw made a warm feeling swim through his body. It stymied his anger at Joanna. A feeling that pleasant was more powerful than the troubles the young lady had caused him.
“You must find another way to seek attention, Miss Joanna,” he said in a voice much softer than he had been using. “I will not tolerate any more rumors or lies. Is that understood?”
Joanna just nodded her head. She had yet to look up at him.
Giving up on the girl, Duke Colbourn edged his horse forward to get closer to her. “Miss Cartwright. If you would be so kind as to walk with me.”
“I would be glad to, your Grace,” Annabelle responded.
He dismounted and threw the reins of his horse over a small white hitching post in front of the café. Turning his back to Joanna, he bowed to Cecilia and Julia. “If you would care to walk with us, you are welcome.”
“Thank you, your Grace,” Cecilia said, dropping into a small curtsy. They waited as he went to Annabelle and offered her his arm.
Annabelle’s heart was pounding in her chest. She took his arm and looked up at him with warm eyes.
“I was afraid you were angry with me, my Lord,” she said. “It appears you are not.”
He gave her a questioning look. “I see no reason why I would be angry with you, my Lady. Did you participate or agree with what the young lady was saying?”
“No, my Lord, I did not.”
He shook his head. “I did not think you did. It was odd, do you not agree? Why is she angry with me?”
“I suppose it is because you did not return her interest.”
Duke Colbourn looked at Annabelle, confused. He had not seen a great deal of flirting coming from Joanna. Once or twice, perhaps. But nothing serious enough for him to take notice of.
“She showed no interest in me.”
Annabelle grinned. “You may not have noticed, my Lord. You are a man. Men sometimes do not see what is right in front of them.”
The Duke looked so comically confused, Annabelle had to laugh.
“You are laughing at me.” Duke Colbourn did not sound offended. It sounded like he was ready to laugh himself.
“I do not mean to, your grace, it is just… I have seen that look on my father’s face when he is trying to understand my mother.”
The Duke grinned at her. “I am complimented by your comparison. Duke Cartwright is a Gentleman that I aspire to imitate.”
“My mother is not a woman I aspire to imitate,” Annabelle said. “She is strict and much stronger than I could ever be with my children. She has taught me well. But when I have my own children, I will give them…” She hesitated, looking up at the duke. She was talking about children. He wanted children. She’d heard him say so.
“I will give them more hugs than I have received from my mother.”
Her sentiment made the Duke think of his own mother and how loving she had been to him. She and his father had cared deeply for each other and it reflected in the way they treated their sons. He missed her. He would find time to introduce the lovely Annabelle to her before too long had passed.
“That is good of you, Miss Cartwright. I would hope that the mother of my children would be loving to them. I know you have learned that from Duke Cartwright, have you not? He is very open with his affection for you and Miss Cecilia.”
“He is a good father.” Annabelle said. “And the Duchess is a good mother. She is just not the type of mother I plan to be.”
The Duke nodded. “I understand what you are saying, my Lady.”
They turned at the end of the block to go back in the other direction, crossing the street first.
“Would you like to stop for a pastry? Or did you eat at the café with the rest of them?”
Annabelle shook her head.
“I did not eat. I was… feeling ill. I wanted to go home. I wanted to…”
Should she tell him she was aching to see him, to make sure he was not banished from the mansion or angry with her for not standing up for him?
“You wanted to speak to me.” He finished the sentence for her.
She hesitated. “I did.” She admitted it. She might as well. He obviously knew. He stopped and turned to face her. Behind them, Julia and Cecilia stopped a few feet away, pretending to look in the window of the shop next to them.
“I wanted to speak to you, too, my Lady. I was very concerned that you would believe Miss Joanna and think that I am not who I claim to be. I came here seeking the beauty of portraits and paintings men brought to the world over the last several hundred years. But what I found was the beauty of the present. You are that beauty, Miss Cartwright. I have asked Duke Cartwright for permission to court you. He has given it.”
Annabelle’s knees weakened and almost gave way. He caught her under her elbows and helped her straighten herself up. He had to chuckle softly.
“Are you that surprised he would say yes?” he asked in an amused voice.
She laughed with him.
“I am not surprised,” she said. “I am relieved. I am so glad this day has turned out so much nicer than I thought it would. I was afraid. Afraid that Joanna would be believed. That the Duchess would send you away. But here you are. With me.” She pulled in her breath.
“I am happy.”
Chapter 22
The tension in the mansion was much less palpable than Annabelle thought it would be. Joanna rarely spoke to the duke when they were in the same area. Annabelle, however, was spending as much time in his presence as she could.
Though they were never alone, sometimes she felt as if they were, that it was just the two of them eating their dinner or chatting in front of the fire.
Two days after the huge storm they had experienced, the arrival of Duke Colbourn’s colleague was finally upon them.
Unexpectedly, a carriage came rolling up the hill toward the front of the mansion. Julia and Annabelle were sitting in the rocking chairs, barely moving, enjoying the late summer day.
Annabelle sat forward when she saw the carriage approaching. She stood up at the same time as Julia. Both women moved to the edge of the porch.
“Do you recognize the carriage?”
“It looks like the one the hotel in the city uses. The one nearest to us.” Annabelle replied, shifting her body so she could get a better look.
“Go in and tell father. He may want to come out here.”
Julia immediately went into the house, calling out for the duke. Annabelle could hear her “your Grace” even after the door closed.
The carriage was almost to them when the door opened again and a flood of people came out. The Duke, Duchess, Cecilia, Joanna, Julia, and Duke Colbourn all came out, one after another.
Duke Colbourn’s face lit up. Mr. Covington had finally arrived.
He hurried to the edge of the porch and down the steps so he could meet his friend. As he passed Annabelle and her father, he said, “It is my colleague. He has finally arrived!”
Annabelle looked up at him as he went by. The smile on his face was bigger than she’d ever seen. He was delighted beyond the shadow of a doubt.
The door of the carriage opened and a slender man came out, stepping down to the ground with an energy unlike a
ny Annabelle had seen before. He seemed to be bouncing on his feet, even when he was standing in one place. He was a flurry of movement, from the moment he stepped out of the carriage.
“Your Grace!” Mr. Covington said, gesturing wildly with his hands as if he was swatting several flies away from him.
“I am so delighted to finally see you. You would not believe, my Lord, the trauma I have been through. I am lucky to be alive! Blessed, you could say! Yes, blessed! My Lord, it has been quite a trip getting here. I must say. You will not believe the stories I have to tell. The heroism! The miracles! Ah, I have much to tell you!”
Annabelle listened to the man talking, an instinctive smile on her face. He was almost as tall as Duke Colbourn, with a long brown hair that reached his shoulders. His eyes were a bright blue, such a blue that it looked like his eyes were pools of clear water. He removed his hat before bowing to Annabelle, the first person he met on his way up the porch steps.
“This is Miss Annabelle Cartwright. Her father Arthur Cartwright, The Duke of Norrend. Her Grace, The Duchess Louise Cartwright. Miss Julia Rickman. Miss Joanna Rickman. And the youngest lady here, Miss Cecilia Cartwright. This is my Lord, my brother, my confidant, Mr. Matthew Covington. A Gentleman beyond all measure.”
As the Duke spoke, Mr. Covington straightened himself and looked very proud.
“Well! I do thank you for that, your Grace!”
“It is good to finally meet you, Mr. Covignton,” Annabelle tipped into a curtsy. He shook his head.
“My Lady, the pleasure is mine. And I have no title.”
“I apologize, Mr. Covington.”
He shook his head again. “No need, no need. I enjoy being mistaken for a Lord. It makes me feel as though I have been bestowed with an honor beyond my worth.”
“No honor is beyond your worth, Mr. Covington .” He looked at the family.
“I have informed the duke but I neglected to tell all of you that I have known Mr. Covington since we were in the academy together. We are good friends, as well as colleagues. We have studied the history of art together for many years. He is the first person I would ask for advice on any artwork in the world.”
